What started as a way to involve senior residents in their community turned into an opportunity for everyone with a connection to Bonnie Doon to reflect on its rich history – and help create a book in the process.

In celebration of their 100th anniversary in 2019, the Bonnie Doon Community League developed “Memories of Bonnie Doon” set to be released in September.

Over a three-year process, volunteers dug into the history of the neighbourhood and interviewed hundreds of people with ties to the area. Lead organizer Margaret Russell said the response they received both from volunteers and those willing to share their memories was overwhelming.

“It’s been a huge commitment, but the stories have been so amazing that as the stories came in we realized we had something far bigger than just engaging the seniors who were really feeling left out of the community,” she said.

Local editor Astrid Blodgett recently went through the large amount of material and filtered out at least 25,000 words, Russell said.

“There was far more material than we could publish and we want to make it accessible to seniors,” she said.

The storytelling process was a chance for Dolores Opper to revisit where she grew up – including a house her father built on 94 Street around 1945.

“The only thing I really remember is I was playing in a trailer and I cut my leg and I laid on the chesterfield in that house because I couldn’t go anywhere for a long time,” Opper recalled.

Her family, the Sollitt’s, were one of the first in the Boonie Doon area and her uncle Percy Sollitt was known for his felt crest business, Percy’s Felties.

Opper recalled the one-story house, sill standing in the community, was the furthest development south to Rutherford School.

Now living in Ottewell, Opper said when her cousins – who also grew up in the area – come back to visit they always drive through the streets reflecting on their childhood years.

The book recounts stories from the earliest residents in the area, the opening of Rutherford School in 1911 as well as the Bonnie Doon street car. It includes around 100 historical photographs, Russell said, with many obtained through provincial archives.

Community league member and book pre-sale coordinator Dolores Carrière said the photos will provide an added element to the written stories.

“I think because we don’t often have the opportunity to see very old photographs of areas we know and we can identify and I think that’s going to be a really nice part,” she said.

Book pre-sales are currently taking place with about 40 already ordered ahead of the September launch, Russell said.

With such a rich history and so much to include, Russell said jokingly that her main hope is people aren’t too disappointed if they aren’t mentioned.

“There’s so many stories, so many decisions to try and give a good representation of so many different people,” she said. “If there’s a photo of somebody that you recognize in the book, I’ll be happy.”